Wow--I'm loving this book! I started reading it years ago but never made it past the first few chapters, but I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to dive into it again. I'm amazed at his vision, his honesty, his humility, and his passion. I'm only on page 100, but I've yet to find anything in his views that I disagree with. And Abigail? Now there's a woman! She knows what she believes and her passion is sometimes greater than her husband's. I love what she has to say about slavery: "I have sometimes been ready to think that the passion for lierty cannot be equally strong in the breasts of those who have been accustomed to deprive their fellow creatures of theirs [slave owners]....It always seemed a most iniquitous scheme to me--to fight ourselves for what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good a right to freedome as we have." Beautifully said!
I think Adam's is always quote-worthy, but being an educator, I loved what he had to say on the subject in Thoughs on Government: "Laws for the liberal education of youth, especially for the lower classes of people, are so extremely wise and useful that to a humane and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant." AMEN!
Sorry to quote the 80s, but "Where have all the good men gone????" Where is our John Adams for today's world?
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One of the things I thought was interesting was that John Adams was not really appreciated during his time either. We can *hope* that some of our current leaders will be appreciated later for their vision and dedication to the public good.
ReplyDeleteI've now finished John Adams, and like you, I'm glad I was required to read it. It would have taken me months if I hadn't felt the pressure. When it's all said and done, I feel a greater appreciation for our founding fathers, but also for leaders today who struggle with their personal lives while trying to serve their country.
ReplyDeleteFinished John Adams last night around 11 p.m. Clearly, he remained true to his ideals even until the end. I loved the quote at the end of the final chapter, taken from a letter he wrote to an old friend, "Griefs upon griefs! Disappointments upon disappointments. What then? This is a gay, merry world notwithstanding." It's amazing to me that he didn't give up given all the adversity thrown his way (the death of his son, the falling out with Jefferson, and everything else piled on), but he leaves a legacy and political model for all world leaders to follow...one of honesty and hard work amidst corruption and scandal. Is is possible? I'm glad I don't ever have to find out.
ReplyDeleteMy class is currently writing president reports. They are required to find a quote by their president for part of their final presentation. As I was showing different quotes to the students,one that struck me from John Adams was, "The Declaration of Independence I always considered as a theatrical show. Jefferson ran away with all the stage effect of that... and all the glory of it." We had a great class discussion about this quote!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was John Adams more than anyone that made the Declaration happen but Thomas Jefferson received all the glory.
Such a phenomenal book. One of my students was looking for a research topic and as we talked about significant Americans, we found Abigail Adams. (It helped that I was reading John Adams at the time.) What was great was that she and I were able to talk in depth about her research--both my reading and hers.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know much about Abigail prior to this reading, but I am impressed by her strength of character and conviction. Being against slavery in a time when it wasn't popular? Raising a family, surviving smallpox, when your husband was across the ocean for years at a time? Amazing.
That, and her letters. She was exceptionally educated with an incisive wit to boot.
I was so happy to read this book as well. It is a life emcompassing a huge arc. Adams lived longer than any president. the story ranges from the Boston Massacre to Philadelphia in 1776 to the Versailles of Louis XVI, from Spain to Amsterdam, from the Court of St. James's, where Adams was the first American to stand before King George III as a respresentative of the new nation, to the raw, half-finish Capital by the Potomac, where Adams was the first President to occupy the White House. This is history on a grand Scale isn't it? All Americans should read this book.
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